Frank Clayton Matthews (born December 31, 1947) is an

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prelate who served as Suffragan Bishop of Virginia between 1993 and 1998 and later as Director of the Office of Pastoral Development.

Early life and education

Matthews was born December 31, 1947, in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

. He was educated at the public schools of Raleigh. He later studied at

Hampden–Sydney College Hampden–Sydney College (H-SC) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Men's colleges in the United States, college for men in Hampden Sydney, Virginia. Founded in 1775, it is the oldest privatel ...

from where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1970. While at Hampden-Sydney he was on the Dean's List and was the recipient of the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award. He was also a member of

Omicron Delta Kappa Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is an American collegiate honor society that recognizes leadership and scholarship. It was founded in 1914, at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia and has chartered more t ...

and

Eta Sigma Phi Eta Sigma Phi () is a collegiate honor society for the study of Classics. History Eta Sigma Phi grew out of a local undergraduate classical club founded by a group of students in the Department of Greek at the University of Chicago in 1914. T ...

. Matthews married Martha Hughes in June, 1969 and together had one son. He also studied at the

Virginia Theological Seminary Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), formally the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, is an Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. It is the largest and second-oldest such accredited se ...

from where he earned his

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

in 1973. While at the seminary, he carried out his clinical pastoral education at

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. In May 1994 he was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

from the Virginia Seminary.

Ordained ministry

Matthews was ordained deacon in June, 1973 by the Bishop of North Carolina Thomas Fraser, and then as priest in April, 1974, by the Bishop of Atlanta Bennett Sims. From 1973 till 1976 he served as chaplain at

Holy Innocents' Episcopal School Holy Innocents' Episcopal School (HIES) is a PK–12 private, Episcopal, co-educational college-preparatory day school in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States.Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

and subsequently served as assistant priest at Holy Innocents Church. In 1976 he became assistant at Christ Church in

New Bern, North Carolina New Bern, formerly Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 31,291 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located at the confluence of the Neuse River, Neuse a ...

, where he remained till 1979. In 1980, he was appointed rector of

Emmanuel Church at Brook Hill The Emmanuel Church at Brook Hill, in the historic community of Brook Hill in Henrico County, Virginia, is a historic Episcopal church. History Brothers John and Daniel Kerr Stewart, both born on the Island of Bute in Scotland, emigrated and ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

where the church membership increased to over 900, from 500 at the time of his installation. He also subsequently served as Dean of North Richmond and chaired the diocesan Commission on Ministry. From 1987 and 1994, he served as Canon to the Ordinary of the Diocese of Virginia.

Bishop

On the third ballot, Matthews was elected Suffragan Bishop of Virginia on May 1, 1993, at a special council meeting which took place at the

. He was then consecrated bishop on September 11, 1993, by Presiding Bishop

Edmond L. Browning Edmond Lee Browning (March 11, 1929 – July 11, 2016) was an American bishop. He was the 24th presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Education, ordination, early ministry Browning received his se ...

in the

Washington National Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Episcopal Diocese of Washington, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral or National Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Episcopal Church. The cathedral is located in Wa ...

. He resigned the post in 1998 after he was named as Director of the Office of Pastoral Development, a post he retained till his retirement on June 30, 2017.Schjonberg, Mary Frances
"Q&A: Bishop F. Clayton Matthews on helping shape the House of Bishops"
''Episcopal News Service'', 22 June 2017. Retrieved on 4 February 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Frank Clayton 1947 births Living people Episcopal bishops of Virginia